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Fatima Latifova

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In Armenia, opposition-oriented protests have become widespread in recent days. The protesters, under the leadership of Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, still demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the recent border delimitation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

As a result of the action, 12 people were detained by local police in Yerevan who are believed to be violent. It is interesting that these acts are incited by the church while the ruling classes avoid harsh intervention. On the other hand, this poses a question about forces that support a religious institution to create such a disturbance in the country.

Political scientist Asif Narimanli, commenting on the topic for Azernews, said that the Armenian Church has always been interested in getting involved in politics. The expert said that this church laid the foundation of Armenian terrorism in the world.

"Clergymen and the Armenian Church have always had a place in politics in Armenia, and they were able to interfere in the administration of the state. Even when there was no Armenian statehood, this church was the main centre where Armenian ideology spread to the world. The source of Armenian terrorism in the world is actually the Armenian Church. However, the church has never joined politics in this way," he said.

The political scientist recalled that there have always been conflicts between the Armenian Church and the current government. He noted that the church keeps the Armenian people under its influence with lies.

"There was a conflict between the church and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan from the beginning. It is not in the interests of the church that the prime minister does not stop the policy of waking up the Armenian people. Because throughout history, this church has controlled the Armenians in this way, that is, it has tried to create a history based on myths and deceive the Armenian people with lies. Pashinyan's current peace-oriented policy causes the Armenian Church to lose its influence, and they don't want to accept it," the expert said.

Asif Narimanli said that currently the Armenian opposition is "suffering" from the lack of "leaders" in the country.

"It is interesting that the church could act on political figures, standing in the background as usual. However, currently, the Armenian opposition does not have a leader who can direct Armenian public opinion and gain support. The protests held so far after the 44-day Patriotic War have shown that the Armenian public opinion does not provide enough support," he added.

The expert drew attention to the distrust of the Armenian people towards the opposition groups.

"Two main figures in Armenia still have the influence of the opposition. If Armenian society changes power, either Robert Kocharyan or Serzh Sargsyan will come to power. The Armenian people also saw their rule for many years and had a bitter experience. That's why they don't want them to return," the political scientist said.

Asif Narimanli added that this is exactly the reason why the church interfered in politics so hard.

"The church actively joined the process due to the lack of a leader in the opposition and distrust. Because the vast majority of Armenians have faith in the church. The church leadership also calculates that it will gain great support from the Armenian community," he said.

The expert explained why Pashinyan does not intervene harshly in the current processes. He said that if the protests increase, punitive measures will be inevitable.

"The reason why Pashinyan's government did not intervene in the process, in my opinion, is that the incident was kept under control. The prime minister's current lack of major punitive measures against the church lays the groundwork for the future. That is, in the future, Pashinyan can use these protests as a basis and say that the church is trying to destroy the government. As a result, the Armenian church may be subjected to more severe punishments.

The political scientist listed the forces that can support these protests.

"One of the main stakeholders in these protests is Russia. In my opinion, Robert's involvement in the process confirms this. It is true that the main goal of Robert Kocharyan is to get out of the process profitably because, as a political figure, he recedes into the background and brings his son Levon Kocharyan to the fore," the expert said.

He also said that France and the Armenian lobby in France could have a hand in these protests.

"Another interested party could be France in the West. Of course, although the current government in France is close to Pashinyan's government, Pashinyan's current policy is somewhat contradictory to France's aspirations in the region. For example, France does not support Armenia's negotiations with Azerbaijan in a bilateral format. France is also the main base of the Armenian diaspora in the West. Armenians here can also take this step to oppose the signing of peace," the expert concluded.

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